More photos of the Tenth Annual New Jersey Hot Dog Tour

Hot dog enthusiasts know their dogs — what they are made of, the casings, types of rolls, how they are cooked and how each one should be topped.

For the Coopers, who came from San Francisco to take the tour, Italian hot dogs were a revelation. Mo Cooper called her first Italian hot dog, "very impressive. I don't think they've been seen west of the Mississippi," then thought about it a bit and said they aren't seen in their home state, Maryland, either, although she thought there might be a "crab dog."

Steve "The Terminator" Keiner, who won the 1999 Nathan's Fourth of July Hot Dog contest by eating 21 1/4 dogs and buns was on hand with his brother, David, and sister Ila. She said, "I was the youngest female manager of a Nathan's in Atlantic City when I was 17."

Norwood Fleming flew in from Montgomery, Alabama, for the tour and to spend some time in New York City. This was the second time he came in to take the tour. At the end of the Union County portion of the tour, he ranked the chili dog from Father & Son's Chili Dogs and Burgers, his favorite, but still had two more stops, including Rutt's Hut, so the jury was still out.

Speaking of Father & Son's, that's the store where two of the members of the tour ordered hamburgers. When they were delivered, the crowd started booing, but it was all in good fun...it seemed!